A regional daily has launched an online survey into racism in football in the wake of the row over whether players should wear ‘Kick It Out’ T-shirts.

Manchester United defender and former England captain Rio Ferdinand was one of a number of high profile players who refused to wear the shirt this weekend claiming that not enough is being done to tackle the problem.

Now the Manchester Evening News is asking its readers what they think about the issue.

The past week has also seen England Under-21 players racially abused in Serbia, while earlier in the season Bolton’s Marvin Sordell claimed he had been racially abused by Millwall fans in a Championship game.

Among the survey’s questions are:

• Have your ever seen/heard racism while watching professional football?
• Do you think racism in football is worse abroad?
• Are the football authorities in England and the north west doing enough to tackle racism?
• Was Rio Ferdinand right not to wear a Kick it Out T-shirt before Manchester United’s game against Stoke?

The survey was suggested by Paul Handler, the MEN’s sports digital editor in the wake of the Ferdinand row.

It was launched today and had 200 responses within an hour.

Sarah Lester, digital executive editor for MEN Media, said: “Racism in football is a big issue. The aim of our survey is to get a snapshot of people’s experiences at matches from the Premiership to grassroots football.”

The MEN says it will publish the results of the survey later this week.